Azenberg scores lifetime honor

Broadway veteran to receive special Tony

Longtime stage producer Emanuel Azenberg will take home the lifetime achievement Tony Award at this year’s legit kudofest.

The storied producer lists some 65 shows to his name, including every Rialto production of a Neil Simon play since the early 1970s, starting with “The Sunshine Boys” in 1972 and continuing through to the ambitious but short-lived double-bill revival of “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and “Broadway Bound” in 2009. Other credits include “Master Harold… and the boys,” “The Real Thing” and “Sunday in the Park with George,” as well as a slew of gigs as a general manager. Producer also recently played himself in a cameo appearance on NBC skein “Smash.”

Azenberg will receive the lifetime achievement trophy during the Tonycast June 10. Last year the award went to playwright Athol Fugard, whose work is currently being showcased in a season-long series of plays at Off Broadway’s Signature Theater, and to Philip J. Smith, chairman and co-CEO of the Shubert Organization.

Lifetime achievement kudo is one of a handful whose winners are named prior to the Tony ceremony. Nominees for the competitive awards are announced May 1.